Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

[Jeff_Jackson_for_Pres.]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

I hate complaining about CCHA refs when my team loses. Partly because it sounds as if I'm searching for an excuse, but it's also because if I complain about CCHA refs, I might never leave my computer. You know something's amiss when the winning coach yells longer and louder at the refs than the losing coach. The missed boarding call on ND was bad. But prior to that I was yelling at Riley Sheahan for taking that dumb interference penalty, only to end up yelling at the refs for making the even dumber call of CTH on Jeff Costello. I suppose if you are dumb and blind, you could mistake Jeff Costello for Riley Sheahan. But in watching the replay after getting home, it was clearly a shoulder-on-shoulder hit. Interference. But no contact to the head. And certainly not by Jeff Costello.

Other than that...well, and the loss...Nick Larson (with that amazing backhand off the crossbar), Garrett Peterson and Peter Schneider (with their forechecking) and Sam Calabrese (with the goal and almost) played quite well. And wouldn't you know it--David Gerths finally finds the net, only to have it called back (rightly so).

I hate losing.

[bronconick]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

If Sheahan's shot with two minutes left had snuck under the crossbar instead of hitting it, Murray might still be yelling at the officials. He really, really likes to talk to them as is.

[WeAreNDHockey]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

Clarification on the too many men penalty Notre Dame took last night. Notre Dame players, either on the bench or on the ice, had words with a Western player following a hit on Stephen Johns that the Irish skaters thought was an illegal hit. One of the referees thought the comments were directed at him, and called a penalty. Why it was called too many men both in the arena and in the boxscore is still a mystery. At least when I thought no one subbed early I was right.

[IrishHockeyFan]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

Western is a good hockey team and earned a couple of hard fought wins. But Notre Dame is good enough that we should not be playing an entire weekend without earning any points. Especially when one of those games is at home. Touch, disappointing couple of games.

I was one who wanted to go with Johnson and earlier posted he brings more of an upside to the Irish than Summerhays. I'm not so sure anymore. We can't seem to get any kind of consistency at all out of him. He can't go a single period it seems without giving up a goal. It doesn't matter if the other team takes 2 shots, 5 shots, 7 shots or 15 shots. He is going to give up a goal. That tells me his focus is a factor. It isn't as if all these teams are taking 11 or 12 bad shots one period and he stops all but one, then they take 3 superb shots and he stops all but one. It's wild inconsistency. It's frustrating.

We outshot Western 11-7 in the second period tonight and spent much of it on the PP, yet they come out of it with the same one goal we scored. Outshot them 8-4 in the third, yet they scored while we didn't. The second Northeastern game is another example of this. He faced just 5 shots over the final 40 minutes but managed to give up 2 goals, and when Northeastern scored on their first shots in both the second and third periods that night, the whole team sagged in front of him. I don't think the team is confident in Johnson right now, and that is a dangerous situation. He is absolutely not making the big save when he needs to.

It doesn't get any easier next weekend. While we have some games in hand on 2 of the 3 teams in front of us in the standings and 2 of the 3 right behind us, we are starting to dig a bit of a hole.

[Jeff_Jackson_for_Pres.]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

Okay. I was harsh on the refs last night, so tonight I am going to be harsh on the team. From the top on down.

I cannot believe I am going to question Coach Jackson on the following 2 points, but here goes...

1. Why is David Gerths dressing, playing and getting time on ST and at the end of a game? He has played in every game except when he was hurt (that's 19 games), has scored in none (zero, zilch, nada), is worst on the team in +/- (he's -7) and took a really dumb penalty tonight to essentially negate a 5-minute major PP. Garrett Peterson and Peter Schneider have 7 points in fewer games and are a combined +6, yet they sat tonight. Why?

2. Why did Mike Johnson start tonight? I worried after the loss last night that this would happen, but did not realize tonight's start was planned all along, not a result of last night's loss. Still, why was it planned because I have noticed something about this team: they simply play better in front of Steven Summerhays, even when they lose. From the opening face off til the end, Notre Dame was a step slow, a day late, a dollar short, but last night they controlled the game (save for 14 seconds). Like I said in an earlier post, Summerhays deserves the starts until he un-earns them.

So there. I've said it. I don't want to see Gerths or Johnson on the ice until a few others poop their breezers.

(Ya know something? The loss tonight could be attributed to the fact that I stupidly dragged Mr. JJfP along with me to Lawson. The team is 0-9 when he's gone. Screw it. I don't buy jinxes. The team just stank tonight.)

[IrishHockeyFan]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

I wonder if Summerhays had thrown a 30 save shutout at the Broncos on Friday if Johnson would still have been between the pipes on Saturday? I suppose if Jackson let the two know both were starting this weekend before the game on Friday, sure. But Jackson seems hell-bent on Mike Johnson as his number 1 goalie. A much longer leash and more opportunities. Summerhays hasn't been lights out, but he's played as well as Johnson, and it's starting to look like for those of us with no say in the situation that the team has more confidence in Summerhays.

Makes me wonder what some of the goalie situations were with Jackson's Lake State teams. From 06/07 to 08/09 this team obviously had one guy to go to, first David Brown, and then for two years Jordan Pearce. But did he have similar difficulty in identifying a top guy up there or was there always just the one?

I'm not a fan of how this sport has evolved to the point where one position is this much of a factor in the game. But this team will likely sink or swim on the strength of the goaltender.

[Jeff_Jackson_for_Pres.]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

Makes me wonder what some of the goalie situations were with Jackson's Lake State teams. But did he have similar difficulty in identifying a top guy up there or was there always just the one?

He mostly went with one (Darrin Madeley, Blaine Lacher, John Grahame) for 2/3 to 3/4 of the games. The back-ups would play in 10-15 games out of their 40+ game seasons. Without looking at game summaries, I would assume the back-ups played in the "less important" games.

[MeridianStreet]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

He mostly went with one (Darrin Madeley, Blaine Lacher, John Grahame) for 2/3 to 3/4 of the games. The back-ups would play in 10-15 games out of their 40+ game seasons. Without looking at game summaries, I would assume the back-ups played in the "less important" games.

You are correct, JJFP. In Jackson's years at LSSU there was never a question who the #1 goaltender was. And, as you can see he was fortunate to always have a very good one. I think Lacher still holds the NCAA record for consecutive scoreless minutes...........over 300!

[Irish83]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

F

okay. I was harsh on the refs last night, so tonight i am going to be harsh on the team. From the top on down.

I cannot believe i am going to question coach jackson on the following 2 points, but here goes...

1. Why is david gerths dressing, playing and getting time on st and at the end of a game? He has played in every game except when he was hurt (that's 19 games), has scored in none (zero, zilch, nada), is worst on the team in +/- (he's -7) and took a really dumb penalty tonight to essentially negate a 5-minute major pp. Garrett peterson and peter schneider have 7 points in fewer games and are a combined +6, yet they sat tonight. Why?

2. Why did mike johnson start tonight? I worried after the loss last night that this would happen, but did not realize tonight's start was planned all along, not a result of last night's loss. Still, why was it planned because i have noticed something about this team: They simply play better in front of steven summerhays, even when they lose. From the opening face off til the end, notre dame was a step slow, a day late, a dollar short, but last night they controlled the game (save for 14 seconds). Like i said in an earlier post, summerhays deserves the starts until he un-earns them.

So there. I've said it. I don't want to see gerths or johnson on the ice until a few others poop their breezers.

(ya know something? The loss tonight could be attributed to the fact that i stupidly dragged mr. Jjfp along with me to lawson. The team is 0-9 when he's gone. Screw it. I don't buy jinxes. The team just stank tonight.)

[Irish83]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

So you think #10 is the reason the got swept? WOW!!

[Third Family Member]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

So you think #10 is the reason the got swept? WOW!!

I don't read it that way. I read it that David has thus far played far below the potential he showed last year and for no explainable reason. His play has on several occasions, such as the penalty on Saturday night, resulted in conditions that are far more adverse for Notre Dame than they might be advantageous for the other team. Taking a penalty that very effectively negated what would have been more than half of a major penalty on Western is a good example of that. Until he figures out what is different about this year, maybe having him on the ice in those higher intensity situations such as special teams and the end of a wildly antagonistic closely fought game is not helping us. If you read back through the thread, you will notice that JJfP spoke favorably of his play on Friday night. Sometimes sticking a person on the ice in those situations when they are in some sort of slump helps them get out of the slump. With David, it appears to be having the exact opposite effect and appears to be intensifying the slump.

[Jeff_Jackson_for_Pres.]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

So you think #10 is the reason the got swept? WOW!!

Do I or don't I...?

What they hay. Do I think David Gerths is the (sole) reason we got swept? No. Was he part of the reason? Yes. So was lack of scoring, stupid penalties, Mike Johnson, less than stellar officiating, Anders Lee drying up again, a few posts and the Lawson Lunatics being more intimidating than our fans.

I understand that some fans take singling out of their favorite players harshly. Hell, for all I know you could be David Gerths' mom. But, this ain't mini-mites. Every one of these players has his mind set on playing this sport professionally. Saturday's showing (by everyone) is not how you impress those who can help you get into the pro ranks. Just because I call out players doesn't mean I hate them or want them off the team. I want my team to be what I know it can be: the best team in the country. This weekend didn't support that belief.

(P.S. That post you quoted was actually a criticism of Jeff Jackson.)

[IrishHockeyFan]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

Our thread sure does seem to have its share of pollyannas, plus about 3 or 4 other team's allotment as well. Before you think this thread is full of people waiting for an opportunity to hang an Irish player out to dry, go take a gander at a few other season threads. There are team threads from every conference that are full of calls for coaches heads, and that have posters constantly throwing their players under the bus. And I'm talking good teams, like BU, or Miami, or Minnesota. We are positively glass 9/10s full people around here compared to most of the other season long threads.

It may be harsh to say it, but on a team with Peter Schneider and Garret Peterson, or even guys like Nick Condon and Rich Ryan, it is absolutely fair to wonder why someone who scored 8 goals last season but has yet to record a point through 2/3s of the season this year continues to skate every game. Last year he was -1, this year he's already -7, and the team is scoring at about the same pace and giving up goals at exactly the same pace. And it isn't like he's out there against everyone's number 1 line, certainly not at home. Besides, the lack of 2nd tier scoring has been a problem all season, and Friday's loss is about the only one where that wasn't an issue at all. No one is saying Gerths is a bad kid or teammate, and JJfP didn't say he was THE reason we got swept. I believe there was something along the lines of top to bottom as well as maybe even a swipe or two about the officiating, some definite questioning of the goaltending, and maybe even a question about a few coaching decisions, as JJfP then pointed out. Shouldn't a Notre Dame fan possess better reading comprehension skills than those displayed by Irish83? As long as they charge me for a ticket or keep score, there is nothing wrong with questioning a team's play, or thinking that fans and/or alums don't have a right to expect a little accountability.

If everyone had the attitude some take around here, we'd be sitting T J Tynan and Anders Lee down every 6th or 7th game, Kevin Nugent would get as much ice-time as Riley Sheahan, and Joe Rogers would have 8 starts by now. And we'd be lucky to have 5 wins.

[IrishHockeyFan]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

At the risk of offending some, if you want to look at some other reasons for the 3-6 record in the last 9 games, look at someone suffering from an unbelievable sophomore slump. Anders Lee managed to pot at least one goal in 9 of the first 11 games this season. Going back to last year, he had scored a goal in an amazing 27 of his first 55 games. He's managed to score a goal in just 1 of his last 13 games. That is a slump of epic proportions. His longest stretch last season without a goal was 6 games. His .38 PPG output over the last 13 games versus a 1.11 PPG output in his first 55 games has so far proven to be a lot to overcome. The .500 record over that 13 games versus winning twice as often as losing in the previous 55 says a lot.

He does bring as complete a game to the Irish as anyone, so his horrific scoring drought isn't the entire story of his game. He works incredibly hard, supports the play well at both ends of the ice, and has had his share of bad puck luck. But in addition to some stability and consistency between the pipes, if this team is to realize its goals this year he needs to have a strong finish.

and I'm not talking about effort, character, or predicting future success or failure. Just pointing out some numbers that help explain why the team is perhaps not winning as often as it could

[NotreDameFan27]

Re: Irish Hockey: Straight Inta Compton

In all honesty, I don't think there's too much wrong with this team. I think Ander's "struggles" derives mostly from Jeff Jackson splitting up the Tynan-Lee line. I assume the logic is to spread the goal scoring over different lines, but I think it ultimately weakens both Tynan and Lee. It's hard to cover both Lee and Tynan when they are on the same line, one is always becoming free and, thus, becomes an automatic scoring threat. I think putting them back together would solve a lot of those problems.

Riley Sheahan, as well as he's been playing, should center the second line. Two strong (lights out) lines, in addition to two grind-out lines, is preferable to four decent lines, IMO. With Notre Dame playing Michigan at home this weekend (and, thus, with the last line change) I think this is how we should go.

The second issue deals with goaltending. You guys know where I stand given my comments on this a couple of weeks ago (this was the reason I finally signed up to post here). I simply think Summerhays is better, us losing control of Friday night's game was simply not his fault. In time he'll learn to steal some for us as well (he's only a sophomore), but for now he's still our best option. Hopefully everyone can see that now. Even if we fail to win the CCHA this year, which i'm not conceding at all, it still makes sense to give Summerhays more experience because this team is still young, with two or three promising years ahead, and he'll be our guy moving forward. IMO, he'll be the certain starter next year. I don't like going back and forth between goaltenders as it blunts our momentum.

I don't think we have to do too much. I think those two things will set things right for us.